NEW YORK — Despite broad worldwide gains for gay rights, homosexuality remains criminalized in many countries – a sore point for activists who hope the global stage of the Olympics can be a springboard for change.
Specifically, activists are asking why the International Olympic Committee – with a credo of “sport for all” – welcomes in its ranks scores of nations that ban gay sex. For the IOC, which has taken actions in the past to combat racism and sexism, it’s a new civil rights challenge likely to linger long after the upcoming Summer Games in London.
